Every Step of the Way
by MagicFairyGirl8
Summary: This is my version of 4:24 Crossroads only Anne doesn't exist so its J/S of course! Major spoilers for this episode. R&R please, I would love to hear what you think!
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything related to Without a Trace except my DVDs and my imagination, although I would love to!

Okay this is my version of the season 4 finale Crossroads so major spoilers! I never thought Jack and Anne should have got together so in this story she doesn't exist. Instead its pure J/S, just as it should have been! It pretty much follows the key bits of the episode but I changed some of it to make it fit better. Sorry if a lot of it seems familar and hope its not too confusing! Would love to know what you think. Hope you enjoy. xxx

**Every Step of the Way**

_Supervisory Special Agent Jack Malone's office..._

"Where did you say you met this err, Susan?" Jack asked, studying Davis closely.

"The King and Castle in the West Village." Davis answered.

"Right." Jack paused briefly in his observation of the man in front of him as a familiar figure came into view on the other side of the glass. Jack looked up at Samantha. She raised her eyebrows at him and nodded slightly, indicating that she had something to report.

"Would you excuse me a minute?" He stood up and slipped out the door. Alan Davis turned in his chair and watched as Jack spoke with the young blonde agent in the corridor outside.

Sam registered Davis staring at them as Jack touched her arm, steering her away from the door of the interview room.

"I spoke with legal; we can't arrest him cos Stoker's ID is based on a hypothetical situation. We've got nothing to hold him on." Sam sounded exasperated.

"I am hanging onto this guy by a thread."

"I know Jack, but when he figures that out he's gonna wanna leave. Maybe we should just release him and get surveillance..." She trailed off, knowing that it was a far from foolproof plan.

"There's got to be something we can do." Jack thought out loud.

"This warrant is not gonna happen Jack; legal won't budge."

"We can't let this scumbag go - we know he did it!"

"I know that Jack." Sam spoke dejectedly, hating that this guy was just gonna walk. Suddenly Jack's cell rang.

"Malone." He listened intently before hanging up. He addressed Samantha.

"Elena took an inventory of the bank robbery. They have Davis' blood. CSU collected blood samples okay, that could get us a court order that would compel him to give us blood and DNA." Jack told her.

"Even though it's still based on a hypothetical ID?" Samantha questioned.

"We need a judge." Jack responded.

"I'll get right on it." She assured him, turning and hurrying away down the corridor. Jack watched her go for a moment before heading back into the interview room.

_Some time later..._

"Well, we could use a break here Danny. Did Stoker say anything else?" Elena asked, hoping for something to hold Alan Davis.

"No, the guy just clammed up on me." came Danny's reply.

"Okay is there any chance-" but Elena was cut off as several loud shots were fired nearby, smashing through all the windows along the glass corridor, and causing panic in the bullpen.

"Elena! What was that?!" Danny yelled down the phone.

"We've got gunshots on the twelfth floor we need assistance up here." Vivian quickly and calmly told the security operator on the other end of the phone line, crouching on the floor so as to stay clear of the shots.

Elena had thrown herself down onto the ground as glass fragments flew everywhere. All around the office people were screaming and ducking down behind desks at the sound of more gunshots.

_Thirty seconds earlier out in the corridor..._

"You gonna follow me all the way home?" Davis asked Jack over his shoulder, irritated.

"If that's what it's gonna take." Jack answered, keeping pace with him. Alan Davis continued to stride down the corridor, closely followed by Jack who was not going to let him just walk out of there.

'Come on Samantha.' Jack thought to himself, desperate for her to appear in the nick of time with what they needed in order to keep this guy in custody. They merely required a bit more time to prove that he was responsible for Jennifer Nichols' disappearance and, Jack suspected sadly, her murder.

Just at that moment, Jack was roused from his thoughts by the 'ding!' of the elevator. The doors opened and out stepped... Samantha.

Jack held his breath.

He felt a sense of hope for justice return at the sight of the envelope in her hands. Sam raised it slightly, meeting Jack's eyes. The words 'United States District Court - Legal Document' had never looked so good.

Alan Davis stopped in his tracks staring at the young, blond agent in his path. His attention switched to the envelope she was holding in her red-nailed fingers, before flicking back up to her face. But she wasn't looking at him. She was too focused on a point just over Davis' left shoulder... she was looking at Agent Malone.

It took Alan two seconds to work out what he was going to do next.

The first thing that registered for Jack was the elbow that came out of nowhere and smacked him right in the mouth. He fell backwards under the force of the unexpected attack.

Davis grabbed the gun from Jack's belt and lifted it, firing shots at random down the corridor. The first few found their mark, and the glass panels lining the walkway were soon in pieces all over the floor.

The other agents in the vicinity threw themselves onto the ground, covering their heads. The occupants of the bullpen - including Elena and Vivian – all dived for cover as more shots tore through the office.

Sam didn't have a second to think. The precious envelope fell to the floor, forgotten, as she reached for her gun. She raised it to fire at Davis but before her finger found the trigger he had grabbed her arm.

Samantha gasped in pain as he twisted her arm and seized the weapon from her hands. He used it to shoot out a couple more of the remaining glass windows before shoving it down the back of his jeans.

Aiming to free herself from his grasp, Sam tried to get to the elevator, but Davis tightened his grip on her and dragged her down the corridor. With one arm tight around her neck, Davis fired more random shots in all directions, destroying the last of the glass windows and impaling bullets in the walls and floor.

"Everybody down!" He shouted, as he continued to shoot. Agents in the corridor cowered on the ground as shards of glass rained down on them, while their shocked colleagues reached for their guns. But they weren't quick enough.

Sam cried out again as Davis pushed her roughly through the door leading to the back stairs. He knocked the butt of his gun against the fire alarm on the wall, causing a loud ringing to immediately fill the air. Coupled with peoples' screams and the gunshots and smashing glass, Davis was the only one close enough to hear Sam's voice.

"Please, you don't have to do this!" She begged him. "We can help-" But he cut her off.

"Shut up!" He grabbed her again, forcing her down the stairs while keeping Jack's gun pressed sharply against her side. Sam fell silent.

"Gimme your gun!" Jack quickly commanded the nearest agent, lying on the floor a few feet away. He handed it to Jack, not failing to notice the blood dripping down his chin from the split lip Davis had given him.

Jack got to his feet hastily.

"Seal the building!" He shouted. Jack dashed after Davis. He came round the corner just in time to see him holding Sam at gunpoint before pushing her roughly towards the nearest exit.

Davis turned and fired yet more shots at Jack, resulting in more smashing glass on either side of him. Jack threw himself down on his front, covering his head as more gunshots sped past where he had just been standing.

Lifting his head, Jack watched Davis kick open the door and shove Samantha inside.

He got to his feet and ran forwards, just as the door slammed shut behind them, leaving only confusion and devastation in their wake.

Meanwhile outside in front of the FBI headquarters, there was chaos. People were running from the building, and crowding on the sidewalk outside. The fire department had arrived and there were police everywhere.

Jack emerged from the main lobby and hurried out into the street. He held the gun in both hands, ready, and scanned the frenzied surroundings for Davis and Samantha.

Seeing no sign of either of them, he thrust his gun back in his belt just as Viv came running out.

"Jack!" she called. He turned round as she rushed to his side.

"Is everybody upstairs okay?" He asked quickly. Viv nodded.

"Yeah." She answered breathlessly. "How did he get a gun into the office?"

"He took mine." Jack told her heavily. Viv was quiet for a second, but recovered quickly – her FBI instincts taking over.

"What can I do?"

"Okay: get NYPD to set up a perimeter, get his photo out to the Transit Authority, all the airports." Viv nodded again and headed off swiftly to get started.

Jack stood there for a moment, suddenly all too aware of the dull ache in his cheek from Davis' punch. He grimaced in pain as he touched his lip and, looking down, he noticed for the first time the blood on his fingers as a result.

Shifting his gaze upwards again he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Turning, Jack saw a man perched on the edge of one of the metal shrub planters. He had his hand pressed against a nasty wound on his forehead which was bleeding profusely. Jack hurried over to him.

"What happened?" He asked.

"This guy clocked me with a gun and took my cab." He replied. "He had a woman with him."

"Which way did he go?" Jack asked him.

The cab driver rubbed his head in pain.

"I don't know."

"Come on come on did he go left right straight what?" Jack pressed.

"He went straight I think." He answered, just as Martin rushed over.

Jack turned his attention to his agent.

"Davis jacked this guy's cab." Jack told him.

"Go, go, I'll put out an APB." Martin responded immediately, turning to the eyewitness. "Go!" He said again, laying a supportive hand on his boss's shoulder.

Jack saw Elena pull up in the street and sped over to her, leaving Martin to question the cabbie. He heard his agent say: "I'm gonna need your cab company: make, model, plate number..." as he climbed into the passenger seat.

Elena pulled sharply away from the curb as soon as Jack had shut the door, setting the siren blaring again.

"NYPD's meeting us at Davis' house." She informed him.

"That's great." Jack replied. "What happened to your neck?"

"It's flying glass, its okay, its nothing." She assured him, keeping her eyes on the road.

"You know this is gonna be all over the news; you should call your daughter, tell her you're okay." Elena glanced over at Jack, appreciating his concern. She nodded and turned her attention back to the road, leaving Jack to his thoughts.

More to come! I love reviews (hint hint) xxx


	2. Chapter 2

_A couple of hours later..._

"Looks like he changed cars." Vivian called as Jack and Elena moved to check out the abandoned cab.

Elena slid onto the front seat. Jack reached in through the open passenger window.

"Gimme the keys." Elena handed them to him.

Jack went round to the trunk, slid the key in and unlocked it with a clunk. He sighed audibly before lifting the lid to check inside.

Jack sighed again – with relief this time. An empty trunk was a much better sight than what he had spent the drive over here imagining. After finding Jennifer Nichols' dead body in Davis' bathtub, he had been dreading the thought of that bastard doing the same thing to Sam, of him opening the trunk and seeing her lifeless body stuffed in there.

Jack exhaled loudly once more; he didn't know what he would have done if that had happened... if Sam had gotten hurt, no, killed, because of him... he never would have forgiven himself.

"Jack." Elena's voice jolted him from his unpleasant thoughts. "This was under the front seat." She was holding out a cell phone.

"Sam's." Jack said quietly, taking it from her. He flipped it open for them both to see.

'No memory remaining!' the warning on the screen informed him.

"She used the voice recorder." Elena went on, as Jack pressed a couple of buttons to hear the play-back.

"Smart girl." He said to himself, smiling slightly at the renewed hope blossoming inside him. Viv stood with her colleagues as the recording started playing.

_Flashback... _

_Samantha was in the passenger seat of the car Davis had picked up from some deserted storage facility. Her hands were tied behind her back. Davis was driving quickly, although not too fast that there was any chance they would get picked up. _

_With Davis concentrating on the road, Sam took the opportunity to extract her cell phone from her jacket pocket. Keeping her body facing forward and her head up, she managed to pull it out without her captor noticing what she was doing. Samantha struggled to hold the device at her side with her hands bound behind her. _

_Knowing this was the only way she could help the team to find them, Sam thumbed a few keys to activate the voice recorder function on her phone. Praying there was enough memory left, Samantha kept it concealed behind her as she spoke._

"_Why are we on the FDR?" She asked carefully, straightening up properly again._

"_I told you to look straight ahead!" Davis answered quickly._

"_No, I just used to have an apartment on Grand that's all." Sam replied, trying not to be too obvious. Samantha knew Jack would be listening to this but she was going to have to be covert so that Davis didn't get suspicious. "I... I just wanna know where we're going." She finished, her voice wavering slightly; better Davis to think she wasn't too confident. _

"_You should keep quiet." He told her. Samantha turned her head slightly to look at him._

"_Hey you know what; you don't need me any more. Why don't you just drop me off at the-" _

_Davis lashed out suddenly and hit Samantha hard across the cheek. _

Listening to the recording Jack flinched as Samantha was cut off, the sound of Davis' hand connecting sharply with her face and Sam's subsequent gasp of pain echoing loudly from the cell's speaker.

_After a moment she recovered._

"_Let me give you a tip." She said, with more confidence than she had. "You've just kidnapped a federal agent and your life won't be worth living unless you fix it." _

"_By letting you go?" Davis asked, his voice laced with sarcasm._

Elena and Viv leaned in closer to Jack as the recording went quiet.

"_So what, now you got nothing to say?" Davis went on, glancing at her._

"_It doesn't matter what I say." Samantha replied quietly. "You're not the kind of guy that lets someone go." _

"_You don't know me!" Davis interrupted angrily. _

"_I know you shot a bank guard, a bystander."_

"_That was a long time ago." He answered defensively._

"_What, you're a new man now?" Sam questioned, a tone of disbelief evident in her voice. "So where's Jennifer? She's dead right?" _

"_Shut up!" Davis said, raising his voice once more. _

"_I know what you did; you broke into her office, you lie in wait and-"_

"_That's not how it happened!" Davis argued._

"_Oh no? What happened?" Sam asked him. _

"_I panicked." He told her after a moment. "I went to her office, looking for anything with my name on it... She came in... I tried to explain how the past didn't matter..."_

"_But she didn't see it that way." Samantha guessed._

"_I though I could have a normal life, you know... maybe a family." A pause then he went on, his tone lower, his voice sounding almost despondent. "People don't change... time goes by and they just, forget who they used to be." Sam looked over at him._

"_Just because you made a mistake," She spoke with a sense of understanding. "doesn't mean-"_

Again Samantha was cut off.

"What happened?" Elena asked.

"Ran out of memory." Jack said. Elena sighed, frustrated. Jack stood there dejectedly then walked away from the group, thinking. Vivian shook her head in disappointment.

_Later that night..._

Jack exited the elevator and stepped out onto the twelfth floor corridor. He stopped, staring at the destruction everywhere. The floor was covered with all the glass from the broken windows, and plastic yellow crime scene markers littered the corridor. Matching yellow police tape was secured across all the windowpanes, now devoid of glass. There were a couple of CSI photographers in the corner, still hard at work. Martin approached him.

"The place has never looked better." Jack said lightly.

"Yeah." Martin agreed with a slight smile, reading plainly the worry on his boss's face for Samantha.

"Anything on Davis yet?" Jack asked as the two agents made their way towards the Bullpen.

"Well we think the car he was keeping in the storage facility is a late- model red Pontiac and we've put out an APB." Martin informed him.

"Any idea where he might be headed?"

"Not yet. We're hoping Grant Stoker gives us something."

_Meanwhile at New York State Prison..._

"I don't know where he'd go. Look, I shouldn't even be talking to you without my lawyer!" Grant Stoker objected. Danny cut across him.

"How many jobs did you pull with this guy? Twenty or thirty? You know him."

"Back then, maybe. Not now."

"Look he abducted an FBI agent!" Danny was losing his patience.

"I swear to God. I don't know where he'd take her." Stoker answered.

Danny paused, regaining his composure.

"Alright, look. There was a job in Green Bay back in the day. Does that sound familiar?"

"What about it?" Stoker questioned.

"Bank teller was taken hostage." Danny went on. "They never found her."

"Hey, I had nothing to do with that."

"What the hell did he do with that teller?" Stoker was quiet for a moment then answered.

"She saw his face." Another pause, then: "He killed her." Stoker sighed and Danny swallowed nervously. It wasn't looking good for Sam.

_Back in the FBI Tech Room..._

Jack and Martin stood listening to the recording they had pulled off Sam's cell, playing out from one of the computers.

"There's gotta be something else in there." Jack thought aloud.

"You know, go back to where he um, where he hit her." Martin suggested carefully. He was well aware of how worried Jack was about Samantha, and he himself wasn't too keen to hear the reminder of the pain she had already suffered blaring out of the recording yet again. However he had thought of something.

Mack, the tech guy, rewound the clip. Again, the sound of Davis' slap and Sam's gasp of surprise and pain filled the room. There was a pause, then:

"_You've just kidnapped a federal agent and your life won't be worth living unless you fix it."_ Sam's voice sounded slightly echoed and so far away to Jack.

"_By letting you go?"_ They heard Davis ask. There was near silence on the tape. In the background there was the noise of muffled speech, so quiet Martin hadn't noticed it until now.

Then Davis' voice started again.

"_So what, now you got nothing to say?"_

Jack sighed, hating what he had let happen and the fact that they were no closer to getting her back.

"Okay, stop it. Stop it right there. Samantha goes silent. Why?" Martin went on. His boss looked up at him, following his line of thought.

"You know what, back it up to right where she stops." Martin instructed Mack.

"Okay." He answered, rewinding the tape once more.

"_By letting you go?"_ Davis' voice said again. Mack adjusted the volume.

"_Wind 210 at five." _Came another voice on the recording.

"Is there a radio in the background?" Jack asked, leaning forward to hear better.

"Yeah. It sounds like the news." Mack chipped in.

"Can you wind it back and dig it out?"

"Sure." Mack complied with Jack's instructions.

The recording replayed but with improved quality so the three agents were able to hear what was being said much more easily.

"That's a weather report." Martin stated.

"_Temperature 1-7. Visibility 10, sky clear."_ The voice continued.

Jack furrowed his brow, thinking.

"Visibility 10... 10 miles. That's gotta be an ATIS broadcast from an airport."

_Back in the Bullpen..._

"Okay thanks." Elena said, hanging up the phone. She approached Viv at the central table. "Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark all confirm they have Davis' photo and he's on the watch list."

"Well he's a travel agent, he's gotta know his way around airports."

Jack headed over.

"He'd never risk going commercial. What about private airfields?"

"There are 11 in a 50 mile radius." Vivian informed him, checking the laptop in front of her for further details. "Hang on. He does a lot of business out of McKinley Airport."

"Let's go." Jack said, and the three of them hurried out.


	3. Chapter 3

_Outside McKinley Airport ten minutes later... _

"Okay, we go in quietly and split up as discussed." Jack instructed his team over the car radio. "And don't go shooting anything unless you know what you're hitting. Copy that?"

"Copy" Martin answered, in the vehicle with Viv.

"Yeah, we copy." Elena replied, answering for herself and Danny, who was sat beside her.

"Okay, great." Their boss finished.

"We've got a red Pontiac in sight." Viv relayed to the team over her radio, as she got out of the car with Martin a couple of minutes later. Unfortunately the man getting out of it was not Davis.

Meanwhile Jack had spotted someone else... and this time it was Davis. But he was alone.

"FBI. Put your hands in the air where I can see them." Jack called from behind him, his gun trained on Davis' back. The killer and kidnapper was at the top of the short set of steps leading to the cabin of a small private plane.

Upon hearing Jack's voice, Davis turned to face him, but pointed his own gun into the cabin.

"You get back. Get back or I'll shoot her." He warned.

"Put down the gun and let her go." Jack demanded.

"I will. Soon as I get where I'm going." Davis glanced into the cabin. "You drop your weapon and you call off your troops. Or I'll kill her right now."

"You're gonna kill her anyway." Jack told him. Davis held his eye contact, but his hand wavered. He turned the gun on Jack instead and fired; the bullet going wide.

Instantly, Jack fired two shots in quick succession. They pierced into Davis' shirt, and he dropped the gun, falling forward onto the tarmac.

Jack secured his gun then ran over to the steps. He peered inside to find... an empty cabin. No Samantha.

He exhaled, thinking hard. Where could she be? And what had he done to her? Turning back around, he spoke into his radio.

"Davis is down. Sam's not here, let's search the area." He went over to where Davis was lying on the ground, blood soaking through his shirt from the wounds on his chest. He gasped for breath. Jack bent down.

"Where is she?"

"She had served her purpose." He murmured, looking up at Jack with a look of grim satisfaction as the lifeblood flowed out of him.

_Flashback... _

_Davis shoved Sam onto the floor. Her hands were still tied behind her back and there was a trail of blood on her chin from where her lip was bleeding._

_He pointed his gun straight at her. Samantha felt her heart start to race with fear._

"_No. Look, you're gonna make a big mistake, yeah? There's no place for you to hide. Come on." Her chest was rising and falling more rapidly as she tried to stay calm, but the look in Davis' eye scared her. He raised the gun to fire._

"_Please." Sam begged. "Please, don't do this. You don't have to do this, you can still get away, just leave me here, please." Davis didn't move. Samantha continued, praying that he would listen. _

"_I know you don't want to do this, you can change. You didn't mean to hurt Jennifer, you were just trying to move on from the past... I know how that feels. Please..."_

_End of flashback..._

"Look you're gonna be dead in about 30 seconds. Do one decent thing in your life and tell me where she is." Jack implored him. "Where is she?"

But it was too late. Davis remained silent, and a few seconds later he was dead. Jack closed his eyes, the hope he held in his heart draining rapidly away.

Elena's voice sounded over the radio, jolting Jack from his thoughts.

"Jack. I found her." Jack closed his eyes again and sighed, hoping that they weren't too late.

When he reached the other side of the airport Jack jogged over to where Martin, Viv and Danny were standing.

Elena appeared from round the corner, her arm around Sam's shoulders. Jack sped up. Elena stopped, letting go of Sam, and went and leant against the car beside Danny.

Sam smiled a tired smile at Jack, the vulnerability showing in her eyes. Jack quickly pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. Sam suppressed a sob as she wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his chest. He held her close to his body, rubbing her back and stroking her hair affectionately.

Standing nearby, the remainder of the team exchanged looks of relief and happiness. Danny reached out and held Elena's hand in his own. Martin and Viv stood side by side with their arms folded, smiling at Jack and Samantha embracing. They were all so glad that Sam was alright, and were in no doubt that their boss would be there to offer her support and comfort when she needed it.

Samantha lifted her head from Jack's shoulder. He relaxed his hold on her, although one arm remained round her waist while the other reached up to touch her cheek. His fingers trailed down her jaw line and brushed gently across her red lips. Sam winced slightly.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart." Jack whispered.

"It wasn't your fault Jack." Sam replied, her hands resting against Jack's chest. Seeing the expression on his face she continued. "It really wasn't your fault." A pause, then: "Did you find Jennifer?" Jack nodded slowly.

"She was dead." He told her quietly. Sam sighed, closing her eyes in disappointment. "I was so scared that he would... would do the same to you." Jack went on.

"So was I." Sam said. "But he didn't."

"What happened Sam?" Danny asked her.

"You don't have to do this now." Jack watched her carefully.

"No, its okay. I don't mind." She assured him. Samantha turned to face her colleagues, Jack's arm still firmly in place around her side.

"He just got out his gun; I really thought he was going to shoot me. He just stood there, staring at me, and then he raised the gun. I begged him not to do it; I told him that I knew he didn't want to really, and that he hadn't meant to hurt Jennifer. I don't know, he just seemed to listen. Then he just turned and walked out." Sam finished, shrugging.

"You managed to talk that murdering scumbag down?" Danny asked, impressed.

"Smart girl." Jack said proudly, pulling her closer. Sam smiled at him.

"I didn't really think, I just, I don't know... he was trying to move on from his past. I know what that's like. I guess he saw that I could understand where he was coming from." She explained.

"You are amazing." Jack told her. Sam blushed, tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She turned her head to look at Jack.

"I was so scared." She whispered to him as a tear slipped down her bruised cheek.

Jack drew her into his arms once more, holding her close, wanting to make her feel safe and secure. Samantha couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

"Let me take you home sweetheart." Jack said after Sam had stopped crying.

The rest of the team began sorting things out with NYPD who had arrived, and the coroner. Vivian took charge as Jack guided Sam to his car, calling an appreciative 'thanks' back over his shoulder. Even though he should be the one taking control, he didn't want Sam to be alone right now, so he was glad that the others were happy to deal with it all.

Viv watched Jack and Samantha's retreating figures, his arm around her and her head resting on his shoulder. She smiled to herself, knowing that Sam would get through this because she was strong - although it would be hard – but she was also confident that Jack would be there for her, every step of the way.


End file.
